Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has admitted he’s expecting a tactical battle when Manchester City take on Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final clash at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Manchester United legend backed City to carry the day at the end.

“I’m expecting a tactical masterclass. I don’t know who’s going to give us the best version of themselves,” he said.

“But the way that these two teams went out last time, from a tactical perspective, was so intriguing. Different in a lot of things they do but the end products from both teams is always there to see.

“You’ve got individual killers on the Real Madrid team and you’ve got a team that just functions so well – a well-oiled machine in Manchester City that just get things done and are favourites going to every single game. I’ll have them as favourites at the Etihad.”

They said same thing in the first leg, and were surprised to see a strong Real Madrid performance.